All 20.0 - Wolves of the Vilkas Mountains
After spending the night in the village of Schlonsberge, now momentarily safe from the threat of the All, the group reconvened later the next morning to discuss their travel plans. Pierce suggested that, if there wasn't too much of a rush, he should return to the boat and construct a portal, since it was likely better to have one already made, just in case. Everyone agreed, and taking the doctor to assist him, he set off, leaving everyone else to make the most of their day in the small town. The summoner finished his work by the evening and the pair returned; the following morning, the group set out on horseback to the northeast, towards the Vilkas Mountains, where they hoped to find an echo spoken of by the gods. Hours passed plainly, until suddenly, in the late afternoon, a strange, distorted voice said something unintelligible to most from above; Pierce and Clover recognized it as Etherian. Looking about, they saw two eerily human-like creatures, twins, sitting on a long, flowing cloth that suspended them in the air. Harlequin, telling Lucca to summon him, appeared as Lucca took the mask and tossed it lightly away. The twins spoke to Harlequin, and later to Clover as she caught their attention, though it seemed they talked to each other just as much if not more. Pierce struggled to translate for everyone else, as their manner of speaking made it difficult to convey specifics to others. They were some sort of fey creatures, not unlike Harlequin it seemed, and they, in a manner simultaneously round-about and blunt, offered to help them. They seemed to want the destruction of the All and were willing to assist them, the first ones they knew of to kill one of the marauding invaders. They asked how they should help, to which the group responded that they were looking for echoes of old ascendants to empower them further; currently, they were heading towards the mountains. Though the twins had no issues with the plan, they mentioned that the mountains were an awful, crass place that they certainly wouldn't like. They himmed and hawed between themselves, confirming for the questioning mortals that there was something there, but they couldn't remember if it was in a cave at the top of the mountain, or in a village in a valley nearby. Eventually, they confirmed that they had no idea, but that there was certainly something boring at one of those two places; they agreed to each other that they could surely find something more interesting at that. The pair speculated on how the group was going to get to the mountains, and complained that walking was terribly slow. Clapping their hands, the entire group was immediately teleported without warning to a village center, causing the inhabitants to quickly vacate the area. The village was Carlsberg, in the foothills of the mountains they were travelling towards, saving them . Telling them that they would keep an eye out for more interesting objects, the twins vanished, leaving them to their task. Cheko began to seem very ill at-ease. The whole area reeked of predators and danger, making her unsettled and nervous. Urging to get indoors, the group moved towards the small local inn. Harlequin, still corporeal, hovered near Clover, acting very forwards towards her. She asked very respectfully why he followed them, and it was explained that he was the one who had teleported them out of the city beset by the All, and had set them on this quest to begin with. Further, since his domain was the cities of Mirilarin, which had been infested with All, he was effectively homeless; rather than drift about aimlessly or attempt to follow them in Etheria, he had opted to take a form that could remain in Materia, the mask, so that he could better watch over the events unfolding. From this, Clover regarded him as a sort of patron spirit, to which he replied positively, though most of the others rolled their eyes. He stayed with them for a few moments longer, hanging off of Clover and vaguely explaining that he liked her because the others were too lawful. After this, he flicked his mask back towards Lucca, disappearing as it left his face. Lucca mentioned that he could speak if you held him in this form, unlike when he was running around; Clover asked if she could see, holding out her hand. As Lucca went to pass it over, Harlequin mentioned that he liked her a lot: Lucca and her should get married and have lots of kids. This caused Lucca to yell out, suddenly pulling the mask back and putting it away, cursing the fey mentally. He explained curtly that Harlequin was being unruly and that he shouldn't be spoken too now, and with that, he turned and quickly left the building. Confused, Clover looked to the others, and Victor explained that Harlequin, like all fey, fed on the emotions of others. He particularly liked paranoia, and so tended to say things that were rather disturbing. Leaving it at that, the group made to rent rooms. Cheko declared that she really couldn't go any further: the place had a horrible feel to it, and she couldn't bring herself to climb the forested mountain. Asking around, they learned that the village was generally a safe place, with only very sporadic monster attacks and bandit raids, much to the pride of the inhabitants. Deciding that it would probably be alright for a few days, the group accepted Cheko's decision to stay in the village while they investigated, taking care of Virgil in the process. As it was already late in the day, they agreed to set out the next morning. The night was uneventful, though Lucca, sleeping outdoors, heard a lot of violent animal activity coming from the distant woods, making him ill at-ease. Leaving the next morning, the group walked through the strange woods, climbing the mountain. A fell wind blew through the trees all day as Lucca and Victor, with the most woodland experience, led the way. The druid in particular noticed very odd signs: evidence of far too many predator species, and not enough prey. The birds were oddly distributed, and the place had an unsettling feel, not unlike the Seldarin Mountains of their homeland. Pressing forward, they came to a point of divergence. Deciding to split up, one group would carry on up the slope to the top, while the other would investigate the village. Victor, Pierce and Cohen opted to take the village route, while the other four continued to the cave. Pierce gave them his wand of Sending, and told them to keep in touch if they found anything. With that, they separated. Lucca, Ryuji, Clover and Cress moved quickly, as day eventually became night. Unsettled by the forest, Lucca suggested that they hold off on camping until they reached the summit, to which the others agreed. After the sun set, the sounds of animals became almost deafening, particularly wolves. The sound of their howling echoed through the trees, suggesting far more canines than would ever happen naturally. Lucca doubled their pace, and eventually thought to cast Hide from Animals on the group. However, due to their speed, Lucca became sloppy; before they noticed, they found themselves standing right in the middle of a loose pack of ten wolves. They were not regular wolves though: Lucca could tell that there was something off about the colours of their pelts and their eyes, and their musculature was curious, making them broader than a regular specimen. Since they were still protected by their spell, they hadn't noticed, but they now were faced with escaping without alerting the dogs by accident. Ryuji turned into a raven to better avoid them, but the other three, despite their best efforts, managed to still accidentally collide with one. The spell broken, the wolf pack immediately noticed the three people standing in their midst. Sensing their hostility, Clover drew her sword and a fierce battle broke out. Lucca and Cress struggled with five, while Clover and Ryuji sliced through the others. Ryuji's silver sword seemed to have a more devastating effect on the creatures, though Clover's prowess in battle continued to be unsurpassed. Eventually, Lucca used his belt to turn into a large earth elemental, pummeling the wolves back. It took less than a minute before all of the animals were dead, everyone bitten and bruised. However, there was little thought of their wounds in the face of something much more curious: all of the dead wolves had become dead humans. The ones that Ryuji in particular had slain with his sword of silver and magic had turned back as they fell from his blows, suggesting that they were shapechangers of some sort. The sound of howling was still in the air though, so the four hurried even faster now, leaving the mysterious bodies and bolting for the top of the slope. Near the very peak, Lucca found a large, ominous cave, shrouded in pitch darkness. When looked at through the mirror though, there was a strange trail and swirl of glitter that led inside. Deciding that this must be an echo, the four pulled out the wand of Sending to try and contact the other three. Clover was the only one among them who could use wands, but unfortunately, the wand shorted before it could be properly cast. Sighing and deciding to try entering without them, the group entered. The darkness was magical and deep, preventing sight; however, the mirror still showed the sparkling trail that they followed to a swirling pool in the cave's center. Standing within it and focusing on the mirror, the four soon found themselves transported. The cave they stood in now was neither light nor dark: everything was painted in somewhat blurred sepia tones, including themselves. Before them, they saw a man fighting a huge black wolf-beast made of shadow and fang. The creature caught the man's weapon and, harrying it around, tossed both it and its wielder heavily against the far wall. The man slumped, leaving only the four to keep its bestial attention. It's breath was both sickeningly hot and deathly chill and it gave a shuddering howl that pierced the air. Clover, summoning her ascendant power, called for a charge, and the group lunged forward: Ryuji circled around its back while Cress and Clover attacked its front, Lucca remaining at a distance to strike with his magic. The wolf-beast bit at them, and spewed horrible freezing breath, but it could not stand against the combined might of the ascendant heroes. With a final blast of lightning from the druid, the creature gave a strangled groan and ripped apart, melting into shadows. Suddenly finding themselves back in the cave on Materia, they found that the eerie darkness had been purged, leaving the cave able to be lit. As Lucca took a step forward, he stumbled on something: It was full of decayed corpses of adventurers who had apparently perished here in the past, heavy with arms and supplies. Collecting the abandoned wealth, the four decided to camp the rest of the night in the cave. The next morning found Cress to be feeling very ill: fatigued, itchy and achy, though still able to make the walk back. None of the healing magic that either the druid or the paladin could muster seemed to have any effect on the elf, setting Lucca into a fit of worry. Despite his illness, Cress refused to be carried, and made the trip slower than it might have been otherwise. The woods were quiet, the numerous wolves no longer making a sound. By the afternoon, the group returned to the spot they had separated from the others, still having not heard anything from them. Pressing forward, tracking the trail left by them yesterday, they soon came to a small ridge from where, in the distance, they could see the houses and fields of a town. Climbing down the cliff with the intent to head to the village, the sun set behind them. As the sun dropped below the horizon, Cress stumbled and fell. As the others went to him, he suddenly shifted shape, becoming a large, broad wolf with white fur and brilliant green eyes, though the orange hair dye that he had put on himself was still clearly visible on the wolf's head. There was panic in the animal's eyes as it looked between the three people. Ryuji stood at a loss, confused, while Lucca seemed rigid with panic, only able to make a few small squeaks. Clover approached warily and tried to grab it before it made to run, but in fear, the wolf bit at her, knocked her over and ran into the woods. Lucca snapped into action, muttering in a daze as he ran after his transformed friend. Clover and Ryuji looked at each other and made to give chase as well. Ryuji looked at her and quickly offered to carry her, as his speed had greatly increased since his ascendance and he didn't tire. She blinked at him once, then lept up onto his shoulders and motioned for him to go. It didn't take long to catch up to Lucca, but Cress had left them far behind. After a few minutes, Ryuji stopped the druid, who was still dazed and shaking. He muttered that he needed to follow Cress, that he couldn't just be let to run wild, but Ryuji calmed him somewhat, explaining that they didn't know what was going on, there were still three people missing and based on the number of howls coming from near the village, they might not be safe either. He directed Lucca and Clover to go to the town, locate the other three men, and hopefully find shelter until morning, since the wolves seemed to have quieted down on the last daybreak. Meanwhile, he could fly and locate Cress, and at least keep an eye on him until they could think of a better plan. Nodding, the other two hurried off. Reaching the outskirts of town, they found it to be seemingly abandoned. As they approached the city center though, they began to see many of the strange wolves lurking about, looking timid and afraid. Approaching one, still shaking and dazed, Lucca cast Speak with Animals and tried to communicate. The wolf accepted his demure approach and answered his questions. It said that it was scared of the new one, the white one with grey eyes, who was in the center. Without explaining to Clover, Lucca ran forward leaving her a bit behind. When he got to the center, he saw a loose circle of wolves watching a bloody fight occurring in the town square. As he watched, a large white wolf with a brutal demeanor threw a brown-grey wolf down, tearing out its neck. Its body lay mangled as it reverted back to a human, surrounded by five other mutilated corpses. The wolves watching all cowered and submitted to the white beast, covered in blood and eyes full of animal fury. It turned towards Lucca, who stood transfixed; glaring, it advanced upon him. Averting his face to the ground, Lucca shook and cowered as the wolf came up to him and reared onto its hind legs, displaying its human-like build. It stared at him for a long second, sniffing at his head. Seemingly satisfied, it gave a snort, turned, and walked away, falling back onto all fours. Clover caught up as the red-stained beast walked away, heading into what appeared to be town hall. As it passed, it gave another snort, signalling two others, a brown one and a grey one that seemed to be wearing a collar, to follow it. They passed inside, out of sight, and Lucca made to follow. Clover tried to stop him, warning him of the danger, but he was beyond reason, pushing her away and walking in. Going inside to the main forum room, he found that the white wolf had taken up a spot at the front, while the other two lolled on the benches between their leader and the door. When Lucca entered, all three looked over; the two looked to their leader, who turned back away, and Lucca was ignored. He stood at the front, keeping his gaze down and posture low, showing his submission. Clover ran in after him, hand on sword. She stood defensively, ready for battle, trying to convince Lucca to leave with her. She would not abandon her aggressive stance, despite Lucca's vehement insistence that he was fine and that she had to get her head down or leave immediately. The white wolf took notice of this and began growling. When she still stood at the battle ready, he stood and advanced upon her, growling. As he reared up and loomed over her, Lucca, explaining as fast and as best as he could through his panic and fear that he was a druid, this was an animal and that it couldn't understand the difference between wariness and anger and she had to trust him and get down and not look him in the eye. Bodily grabbing her and throwing themselves both on the ground, Clover allowed Lucca's intrusion, and remained on the floor until the wolf was satisfied and walked away again. When it returned to its spot, Clover tried to pull Lucca away, saying that they had to get somewhere safe. Lucca refused and stayed collapsed on the floor, trying to tell her that she should leave, but he was a druid, he could handle this situation, and that these were Victor, Pierce and Cohen; he wouldn't leave them. Sensing that they were upset, the grey wolf approached them and tried to console them, nuzzling and licking at them both; apparently, the magic of the collar influenced him even in this state. Eventually, Clover compromised and sat in the corner at the ready, prepared to stay awake the night. Lucca remained on the floor, shaken and devastated. After a long, silent while, Lucca meekly approached the white wolf, still licking its wounds. It regarded Lucca calmly; using Speak with Animals, he explained that he could fix the gashes. Granting consent, Lucca gingerly and timidly cast healing spells on the wolf, healing its injuries from the fights with the now-dead villagers. Satisfied, it stood up and made to leave, signalling the others to join; when Lucca asked where it was going, it said that it was hungry, and when asked if it was coming back, it said yes. Lucca told Clover to stay there and that he was going to follow them. She agreed, and blockaded the door as soon as they left. She tried to use the wand of Sending again to contact Ryuji, but once again it faltered. Lucca followed the wolves as they ran into the woods on the hunt, staying far enough away as to not disturb them, though they made motions to allow him to eat from their kill. When they finished, they returned to the town hall. Finding the door stuck, Lucca managed to convince them to wait a moment so Clover could unbar it. Re-entering and returning to their spots, all three wolves quickly fell asleep. When the sun rose, all three shifted forms, becoming Victor, Pierce and Cohen again. Exhausted and rife with the trepidation of fear and adrenaline, Lucca went to Victor and tapped him awake. Springing conscious, as he tended to do, Victor looked around in confusion. He held his head, trying to work out where he was and how he had got there, when he saw Lucca sitting and looking more scared than he ever had before. With trepidation on his part, Victor pulled him in to hug him, which he flinched at at first but accepted. Mumbling into his shirt, Lucca gave a broken account of the events, as Victor gave a broken recollection of his: he barely remembered anything from the night before. The two, both deeply upset, continued to hold each other while they sat on the floor. Cohen was the next to wake. Sitting upright and complaining of a stiff back, he received an explanation from Clover about the events, which he took decently, though with extreme sarcasm. Clover had heard of this before, the werewolf curse, but she knew little about it and had no idea what a cure might be, if there was one at all. This caused some consternation from Lucca, who looked up and declared that there had to be a cure. Cohen, meanwhile, got up and said that he wanted to go find their possessions, but Clover stopped him, warning that the villagers might not be friendly. He also wondered where Ryuji and Cress were, to which she replied that Cress was also cursed was and Ryuji had been following him. She held out the wand of Sending, asking if he could use it to contact them. Without issue, he cast the spell, telling Ryuji that they were all waiting in the town hall for them; Ryuji replied that he had Cress and they were on their way. They arrived not too long later, walking in. Ryuji looked a bit flustered, but Cress' mood was chipper; he described his experience as "like a great dream that he didn't really remember, but still felt great after waking up". According to Ryuji, Cress had just run around like a fool for the entire night. They woke up Pierce and explained the situation, which he seemed to find difficult to comprehend. Regardless, he stayed focused on the task at hand: Clover believed that the curse triggered on the nights of the full moon, of which there was one more. Deciding that the best place to hole up and contain the wolves was the hangar where the boat was being kept. Pierce offered to create a temporary portal that everyone could use to reach their destination, after which he could destroy it and teleport himself. They agreed this was a solid plan; Clover and Cohen searched the building and reclaimed the men's belongings, then the woman took a well-deserved rest. When it was complete, the group left, followed shortly after by Pierce. Back in the hangar, they found Carrot in the boat. They explained the situation briefly, and warned her not to open the doors to the boat for any reason, which she agreed to. Then, as sunset drew close, Lucca sealed the room's entrance with stone shaping spells, locking himself inside and leaving Clover and Ryuji outside by the ruin entrance to stop anything from escaping, if it came to that. When the night came, the four men shifted back into animals. Finding no exit to the cave they were in, they mostly fell to napping. Cress was more energetic, scratching and digging about, and trying to cajole the nervous Lucca into playing with him. Lucca kept himself awake throughout the night, wary and on-edge. Meanwhile, Clover and Ryuji had a long talk about their lives, their families, their homelands and themselves, opening up and beginning to form a friendship. Eventually Clover, yawning, fell asleep at Ryuji's behest; she chose to lean on his shoulder, to no complaint of his. When the morning came and everyone was back to normal, the group debated where to go next. If the curse only came three nights a month and the wolves continued to behave manageably, it shouldn't too difficult to deal with the problem and carry on their quest. Though they agreed that learning more about the curse, and possibly breaking it, was important, it still paled in comparison to the threat of the All. With that decided, they decided to carry on in the Gunakadeit, along the coast to the country of Eshbol, where the monument to the Dragon King stood. Using Teleport, Pierce and Victor collected Cheko, who was all too glad to be rid of the place, and Virgil, who was disappointed about having to go back on the boat so soon. Returning immediately, the boat set off once again. Category:Advent of the All